Rare and Distinctive Books - University Libraries

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About

Special Collections hold over 40,000 rare and distinctive books. You may search the complete collection through the library catalog.

Featured Collections

Donald Thomas War Poetry Collection

Donald Thomas, a native Texan, enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and was deployed to Vietnam in 1968, where he served as part of a Medical Unit Self-Contained Transportable ONE. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat “V” for his service in Vietnam. Mr. Thomas earned his Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas in 1972. He retired from the Navy in 1986 to pursue his interest in librarianship, which allowed him to work at Baylor Health Science Library, Texas A&M University, and the Harris County Public Library System.

The Donald Thomas War Poetry Collection was acquired in 2015 and consists of over 1,000 volumes collected over 40 years. The Collection focuses on English and American poetry spanning the period from the American Civil War to the Iraq War. The Collection contains a number of reference volumes, biographies, and histories related to war poetry. Most of the Collection is focused on World War I and contains many important names and titles from the time period including works by Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, and Siegfried Sassoon. The greatest strength of this collection, though, is the number of works by lesser known war poets whose works have become difficult if not impossible to find today.

Contents of the Donald Thomas War Poetry Collection can be viewed on the Libraries catalogs

Pat Warde Collection of Southern Letters

Pat Warde was an integral part of the intellectual and political life of UNT and the entire Denton community. Warde’s husband Bill established the Pat Warde Memorial Collection of Southern Letters for the UNT Libraries in 1992, in memory of his wife’s love of literature and her dedication to the highest ideals incorporated in the great literature of the South.

Replenished by ongoing contributions, the Collection is a living entity consisting of first and rare editions of important southern authors, as well as critical and biographical works on authors represented in the Collection.

The Collection is particularly strong in the works of Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter, and Flannery O’Connor. Through the endowment, first editions, autographed copies, limited editions, and association copies of various titles are made available to those visiting Special Collections.

View contents of the Pat Warde Memorial Collection of Southern Letters in the Libraries Catalog.

Vann Collection of Victorian Literature

J. Don and Dolores Vann began collecting Victorian books in 1962, when they acquired a first edition of Dickens’s Bleak House. They spent the summer of 1965 in London, conducting research in the British Library and buying first editions of works by Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray. During their subsequent trips to London, the Vanns came to know many of the city’s booksellers and were offered first editions they kept hidden from all but their most favorite customers. Many of these books now reside in the Vann Collection of Victorian Literature at UNT.

Special Collections has important holdings in Victorian literature, 19th century British fiction, poetry, and relevant periodicals. Much of the Collection has been donated by UNT Emeritus Professor J. Don Vann and his wife, Dolores. Highlights of the Vann Collection of Victorian Literature include a first edition of A Christmas Carol, the periodical All the Year Round which contains the first serialization of A Tale of Two Cities, and other serialized first editions including Our Mutual Friend, Bleak House, and David Copperfield.

J. Don Vann is a retired University of North Texas Regent’s Professor and Professor Emeritus in English. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from TCU and his Ph.D. from Texas Tech, then joined the faculty of UNT in 1964. He taught courses in Victorian literature, particularly Dickens, Tennyson, and Browning. His doctoral dissertation on the critical reception of David Copperfield in London newspapers led him to be a founding member of the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals in which he held various offices

Having been members of the London Dickens Fellowship for many years, Don and Dolores founded the Denton Dickens Fellowship in 1987. The branch received a charter from the international Dickens Fellowship the following year. On two occasions he was given the honor of delivering the eulogy at the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Dickens’s grave in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey.

In 2004 J. Don and Dolores established the Vann Victorian Endowment to provide a permanent fund to purchase Victorian books for the Collection.

Browse the holdings of the Vann Collection of Victorian Literature on the Libraries Catalog.

Gustine Courson Weaver Collection

Gustine Courson was married to Clifford Weaver and eventually lived in McKinney, Texas. Previously, the couple had traveled abroad to Japan as missionaries but settled in Texas for the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Weaver was also the author of Santa’s Cotton Doll Farm, a children’s book which was illustrated by Dorothy McGonagill.

Gustine Weaver collected all forms of materials including dolls, manuscripts, pop-up books, miniature books, journals, newspaper clippings, and “Heidi” materials, among other things, including some artifacts. Mrs. Weaver also created scrapbooks of her own life as well as the many subjects she was interested in. This collection contains the materials which were originally part of the Historical Collection, which Mrs. Weaver donated in the 1930s and 1940s.

Included in this collection are the Te Ata scrapbooks, which have original photographs and clippings of the famous Native American. A scrapbook of Dickie Jones, the voice of Pinocchio, and scrapbooks on fabrics are also included with these materials. The remaining scrapbooks in this collection are in a bound format and are titled “Dolls,” “Heidi,” “Illustrators,” with additional titles arranged according to subject matter.

The collection includes the Weaver family photo album with photographs of Gustine Weaver’s father, John Courson, her sister, Olive Courson, and many of their cousins and other relatives. The album dates back to the late 1800s and includes primarily cartes de visites and cabinet cards. View the contents of the Gustine Courson Weaver archival collection here.

Additionally, Mrs. Weaver devoted herself to collecting children’s literature. Special Collections holds over 600 volumes from the library of Gustine Weaver, and has continued to acquire rare pop-up, miniature and juvenile materials to supplement the collection. Today the Weaver collection includes materials from the 18th- 21^st^ centuries, including Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden and an unprecedented number of English translations of Johanna Spyri’s Heidi. Besides strictly children’s literature, Mrs. Weaver also collected first editions by Christina Rossetti (her works for children and adults) and Mary Webb. Highlights of the Weaver Collection include:

Early children’s grammar and educational books such as The universal spelling-book, or, A new and easy guide to the English language, 1786
Early children’s literature such as Cobwebs to catch flies, or, Dialogues in short sentences : adapted to children from the age of three to eight years, 1783
Artifacts from the home of Johanna Spyri, including this Sewing Basket, ca. 1840-1890
A scrapbook containing Ms. Weaver’s extensive research on early Texan Philip Nolan, including photos, correspondence and published works. Philip Nolan Scrapbook
Examples of vintage fore edge painting, including Hints toward forming the character of a young princess, 1819, and Fables de La Fontaine, 1825

D. Jack Davis Art Education Collection

D. Jack Davis was Emeritus Professor of Art at the University of North Texas (UNT) and a former Co-Director (1990-2005) and director (2005-2011) of the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts (NTIEVA).

Books in the D. Jack Davis Art Education Collection can be searched in the library catalog.

Pop-up and Movable Books

This extensive collection includes interactive books featuring three-dimensional and movable elements. Historical pop-up and movable books from the 19th century include specimens of well-known publishers such as the McLoughlin Brothers and Lothar Meggendorfer. Hundreds of examples of pop-up and movable books from the 20th century are also available in the collection.

Special Collections also holds an impressive collection of production archives associated with the creation of specific pop-up and movable books. These include:

Miniature Book Collection

Miniature books are defined as those books under 4” (3” in some places) for any dimension. Books in small sizes have been produced since antiquity and continue to be produced to this day. They are all “real” books with pages, printing, illustrations, etc. - just very small.

The Miniature Book Collection at UNT began with a group of miniature children’s books donated along with the Gustine Courson Weaver Children’s Book Collection in the 1930s. Originally, these tiny tomes from Mrs. Weaver’s collection were displayed with other miniatures that had been acquired over the years. By 2001, the Miniature Book Collection had grown to include over 600 volumes. As more attention was focused on the collection, more books were acquired to fill gaps in the collection. The collection now includes almost 3,000 items and is one of the most popular collections with visitors.

The oldest printed miniature book in the collection is a copy of the works of Cicero published in 1521. The next oldest volumes are from the 1600’s and include religious works and works of classical authors. Representative works from the 1700’s and 1800’s include almanacs, children’s books, literature, religion, classical works, reference works, and a group of “Diamond Classics” printed by William Pickering.

More recent miniture book imprints and publishers represented in the collection include:

In addition to miniature books, this collecting area also includes archival collections related to the production and collection of miniature books.

Frankenstein Collection

Special Collections holds a large collection of materials related to the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Shelley’s Frankenstein. The materials in this collection include 18th and 19th century books on science and technology that likely inspired Frankenstein, rare early editions of Frankenstein, and a variety of modern materials that document the impact of Frankenstein in popular culture.

Items in the collections include:

Fine Printing

Known for craftsmanship and dedication to quality, fine printing exemplifies the artistry of book printing and publishing. Often created in limited quantities, these books meticulously made and treasured as works of literature and fine art. Some important examples of fine printing in the collection include:

Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection at the University of North Texas promotes the legacy of speculative fiction creators, advances speculative fiction scholarship, and preserves the contributions of fans and fandom. Our rapidly expanding collection gives special emphasis to works and materials with a Texas or north Texas connection.

Collection highlights include the papers of novelist Warren Norwood and illustrator Victoria Lisi Poyser, pulp works by Robert E. Howard and Mildred Clingerman, as well as Texas fanzines and north Texas SFF convention programs.